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September 21, 2009
Holmen, Wisconsin - For the seventh consecutive year, a pistol team
from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) took top
team honors during the 43rd annual Basil Irwin Memorial Game
Warden Pistol Shoot competition held Sept. 2-3 in Holmen, Wis.
Minnesota Conservation Officers Greg Abraham (New Ulm), Mitch
Boyum (Rochester), Sam Hunter (Park Rapids), Aaron Kahre
(Minnetonka), Kevin Neitzke (Fort Snelling), Thor Nelson
(Bloomington), and Greg Oldakowski (Wadena) shot a record score of
5,475 out of a possible 6,000 points in the team competition.
During the individual competition, Abraham took top honors in the
aggregate, bull’s-eye round, practical pistol course, and tactical
course categories. Abraham has been the overall top shooter 25
times in the last 28 years, and is currently on a 10-year winning
streak.
Neitzke, Boyum, and Oldakowski took second, fourth, and fifth
place honors respectively in the aggregate competition. Neitzke
placed second in the practical pistol course. Oldakowski finished
second in the tactical course.
“State conservation officers do so well in pistol competition
because they are focused, are disciplined, are detail-orientated,
and are exceptionally competitive,” said Col. Jim Konrad, DNR
Enforcement director. “We are used to exercising concentrated
focus and self-discipline, which are both really important
qualities to be a good shooter.”
Teamwork is another of the conservation officers’ advantages. “The
DNR pistol team is a tightly-knit group of professionals,” Konrad
said. The team members say this cohesiveness gives them a feeling
of calm, knowing that they have the support of their teammates
both competitively and emotionally.
Basil Irwin was a Minnesota “game warden” in the Sandstone area
for decades. In 1967 he challenged some Wisconsin wardens to a
team pistol match. The inaugural event was called the
“Minnesota-Wisconsin Wardens Pistol Match,” but renamed “The Basil
Irwin Memorial Game Warden Pistol Shoot” after Irwin’s death in
1970. Since then, natural resources enforcement officers from
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have participated in the event.
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